They’ve nicked my Dean

It was announced early this morning that the Dean of Bradford, Dr David Ison, is to be the next Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Great for London, but a real loss for Bradford and the glorious north of England.

David is brilliant and has been a superb colleague in the year since I began the move up north from Croydon. He will bring immense gifts to St Paul’s at a crucial time in its life. He has led a transformation of Bradford Cathedral and demonstrated great skill, wisdom and determination in reconnecting the cathedral and diocese with the city. (The cathedral was made bankrupt at the beginning of the decade.) The announcement reads as follows:

Dr David Ison (57) been Dean of Bradford since 2005, where he has enabled the Cathedral to play a significant role in the life of the city and the diocese of Bradford.

The Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Revd Nick Baines says, “I am delighted that St Paul’s Cathedral is to have as its new Dean a man of such warmth, ability and stature as David Ison. I am sad that Bradford will be losing a Dean who has done extraordinary work in the last six and a half years for the good of the Diocese, the city and its diverse people. David leaves a strong legacy for the next Dean of Bradford and moves to London with my deep personal gratitude for his friendship, advice and support in the short time I have been the Bishop of Bradford. London’s gain is Bradford’s loss, but it is good to know that a deep affection for and knowledge of Bradford will now be resident at the heart of the City of London. David and Hilary go with my love, my prayers and the gratitude of all in this diocese.”

David is married to Hilary, who is also an ordained priest and works in London for the Church of England’s Ministry Division, in the selection of prospective ordinands. They have two married daughters and two sons, and became grandparents two years ago. His interests include history and current affairs, interfaith relations, DIY and scuba diving; and he drives a kit-car he made himself.

About his appointment, David Ison says:

“My appointment as Dean of St Paul’s has been as unexpected for me as the vacancy itself was unanticipated. The upheavals of the last few months at St Paul’s, and the underlying spiritual, social, economic and political issues which they highlight for our country, are very much on the agenda for the Cathedral in London; but they are also issues for people, churches and cathedrals across the country. Even Bradford has had an Occupy camp, although it was in front of City Hall rather than at the Cathedral.

“Bradford is a special place, with a rich diversity of people, faiths and experiences. There is a huge amount of commitment to the future of the city, and a humour and realism which makes it a very rewarding place to be. The people of Bradford Cathedral are marked by their warmth, faithfulness and prayerfulness; and this is reflected in the city as a whole. It has been a welcoming place to come to, and it is a hard place to say goodbye to.

“I have always been clear that I would only leave Bradford for a post which was equally challenging and fulfilling. Having been strongly requested to explore the Church’s call to London, I can see how it will make use of my skills and the experience and learning I have had in Bradford and before: the call of the Church fits with my sense of God’s call to me. I will go south holding Bradford in my heart: and I will take the perspectives of working in what are considered more marginal areas, in London and the Midlands as well as Yorkshire, into the heart of the capital. It is an exciting and daunting prospect.

“I am glad to begin my work at St Paul’s while a Bradfordian, David Wootton, is Lord Mayor of the City of London; and I look forward to working together with colleagues in the Diocese of London, at Westminster Abbey and Southwark Cathedral, in other Christian churches and in different faith traditions, and with partners in civic and business life, in private, public and voluntary sectors, with rich and poor, alternative and establishment, organised and marginalised. I particularly look forward to getting to know the staff and community of St Paul’s Cathedral, and exploring with them and with all the Cathedral’s stakeholders the particular ways in which the Cathedral can serve the whole city of London and the wider nation in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

About his time in Bradford, David Ison says:

“When I came to Bradford Cathedral, I had no great blueprints or strategies in place: but I came to listen, to pray and to love, and to see what God would do. I will go to St Paul’s knowing that I have much to learn, and much listening to do. I want to build on the good work done in cathedral, city and diocese by my predecessors, and in particular by Dean Graeme Knowles and his colleagues. And I also have confidence in God, who calls us together to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Him.

“When I came to Bradford in 2005 people asked me why. The reasons I gave then have stayed the same since. Yes, it’s a place of challenges and there are some difficult issues to deal with, and the Cathedral too has had its share of sorrows and failures in the past. But there are great people here, and a city which has some simply wonderful buildings – I take visitors to look at the ceiling of the Santander bank and they’re gobsmacked! I love the cultural diversity, and the potential for people of different cultures to learn from and work with each other. There’s so much good will and friendliness when people really meet together. Bradford’s a small enough city to be able to get to know people well, and large enough to offer all kinds of possibilities, and I think its future is looking more hopeful than for some time. Being here has been testing and stretching and fulfilling in all kinds of ways, and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to work here.

“What will I regret about moving? Of course I’ll miss the curries, and all the other good food around here too. I’ll miss the great countryside, and the buzz that comes when one of the Bradford sporting teams is doing well. But above all I’ll miss the people here: the friends we’ve made from many different communities, the basic honesty and down to earth nature of life, the way in which talking about God and faith is natural rather than an embarrassment, and the determination that, come what may, Bradford will get through it. It’s a world-leading place in its own way, and it’s been a real privilege to be part of it.

“And why am I moving in 2012? Going to St Paul’s Cathedral in London isn’t something I’d have thought of. But I’ve been asked to go, and I can see how what I’ve done and learned here is relevant to the situation in which St Paul’s now finds itself. I don’t see it as leaving Bradford behind, but as taking the spirit of Bradford with me to our capital city. I look forward to finding out more about London and its cathedral, and seeing how God is at work there as well as here. If you pray, then I’d be grateful for your prayers – and I’ll be praying for you and the city and diocese of Bradford as it goes forward into the future.”

David Ison was born and brought up in Brentwood, Essex. After taking a Combined Studies degree at the University of Leicester he trained for ordination at St John’s College, Nottingham. He served his curacy at St Nicholas and St Luke Deptford in the Diocese of Southwark (1979-1985), while also writing a PhD in church history at King’s College, London to develop skills to work in training people for ministry. From 1985 to 1988 he was Lecturer at the Church Army Training College in Blackheath. In 1988 he became Vicar at Potters Green in the diocese of Coventry, where he worked to physically and spiritually rebuild the church. In 1993 he moved to Exeter as Diocesan Continuing Ministerial Education Officer to take on a variety of roles in training and supporting clergy in their ministry, and in 1995 he also became a Residentiary Canon at Exeter Cathedral. Since 2005 he has been Dean of Bradford, where he has enabled the Cathedral to play a significant role in the life of the city and the diocese of Bradford.

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13 Responses to “They’ve nicked my Dean”

How appropriate for my native city that the translation of the Dean happens when an Old Bradfordian is Lord Mayor of London. I hope the post-installaion bunfight will include Yorkshire Puddings with onion gravy as well as the curries which I miss so much in West Country exile!

“In his previous position as dean of Bradford Cathedral, Ison conducted ceremonies to affirm and pray for gay couples civil partnerships. He said he would be happy to do the same at St Paul’s.”

Is this correct? Was he “blessing” same-sex relationships? If so, were you aware of this? You have given a very fulsome praise of Dr Ison. Are you in agreement with this practice, znd his strong supprt for same-sex marriage? Thank you for your clarification.

Marion, I understand the Guardian took it from a Times article that took it from a Times interview. As there is no liturgy for ‘blessing’ same-sex civil partnerships, there could not have been a ‘blessing’. All clergy should be ready to pray with people. David’s (nuanced) point is that faithfulness in relationships is to be encouraged, affirmed and nurtured. The Sunday Times is now phoning clergy to try to set off a conflict with the Archbishop of York. Press games also form part of this business where defnition and nuance are frequently incidental to ‘the story’.

I don’t understand Bishop Nick’s reply to Marian Wades’ question – forgive me but it seems a bit disingenous. I know several clergy in Southwark who have conducted blessings of same-sex partnerships with their own liturgies, and it reads to me that this is exactly what Dean Ison says he has done as part of his work at Bradford Cathedral. The absence of an “offiical liturgy” is simply hair-splitting. Dean Ison says in The Times he supports gay marriage. Did Nick know this when he wrote to commend him so warmly and does he agree with him?

Having spent a week shadowing David last autumn I am still struck by him as a authentic leader & humble follower of Jesus. His ministry in Bradford has led the Cathedral through their own journey of death and resurrection to a place where the Cathedral now stands as a beacon and symbol of hope & new life. It’s own recent journey places the Cathedral in an exciting and privileged position to take the lead in shaping the future of one of our nations most exciting & challenging City’s. David will leave a strong foundation and great legacy for the new Dean to build upon, to grasp new challenges and opportunities as the Cathedral re-commits itself to being a place that excels in worship, abounds in compassion and lives with outrageous generosity.

Gerry, it isn’t what David has done – it is what has been said he has done. He doesn’t “support gay marriage” – that’s a headline. His point was perhaps too subtle for a newspaper interview, but clear in itself: some non-marital relationships (such as civil partnerships) seek the ‘virtues of marriage’ and are, therefore to be understood and encouraged in this way. David will speak for himself, but he is a little surprised at what was left out of the original interview and how his views were then represented. Welcome to the world of media engagement.

Hi Nick I can understand that the point David Ison made was more subtle than the headline. But everything he is quoted as saying pointed towards support for same sex marriage. Is there a statement in which he clarifies his views?

Bishop, why would a Christian be in a (sexually active) “non-marital relationship”? Such a thing doesn’t agree with anything that Our Lord or St Paul had to say about marriage and celibacy. How non-Christians choose to live in a secular society isn’t my business.

But I must assume that your unwillingness to answer my simple question means you do think non-marital sexual relations are morally acceptable in God’s eyes for some.

Marion Wade, your question is not simple and I assume you would not be happy if I accused you of not answering my simple question. Given that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, let’s take something he was apparently unequivocal about: divorce. Do you believe that someone who has been divorced should be remarried and sexually active? If so, how do you account for this? If not, where do you then go with people who are in this situation and in the church? Coming to a judgement on what is and what is not acceptable is only the beginning of the (pastoral and ethical) argument, not the cut-off point.

This thread was began with what you called ‘gay marriage’ and seems to have strayed into the usual sterile soil.

Bishop, you counter (but do not answer) my single question with three of your own, which are in fact off-topic (and precisely the way acceptance of homosexuality was ‘brokered into’ the Episcopal Church). However, I will attempt an answer to your three (in an area which I have researched), in the hope that you will attempt an answer to my one. If the discussion has ‘strayed’, it is not because I countered with the different question of divorce.

You ask:

“Given that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, [are you sure about this? what does porneia mean? have you read Professor Robert Gagnon’s book?] let’s take something he was apparently unequivocal about: divorce. Do you believe that someone who has been divorced should be remarried and sexually active? If so, how do you account for this? If not, where do you then go with people who are in this situation and in the church?”

Answering your questions 1 and 2: The idea that remarriage is ‘ontologically impossible’ (which I take to be the classical Roman position) was never accepted by the Orthodox Churches or by Protestants. The famous exceptive clause in Matthew 5:32 and the discussion of marital desertion in 1 Corinthians 7:15 – along with the possibilty of remarriage – have always been taken by the Orthodox and Protestants to mean that marriages could be terminated by a party’s sinful behaviour. (And please do not mention Henry VIII here: he never sought a divorce – and legally never was divorced. These were annulments.) Dr David Instone-Brewer of Tyndale House Cambridge has very carefully discussed the subject in his monograph.

Which is to say: there are divorces and there are divorces. Divorce itself is not a sin but always the consequence of a sin. God Himself presents Himself as a divorcee in the Old Testament, divorcing his sinful wife (and then taking her back). There is such a thing as repentance from sin and restoration

As for your question 3, that’s a pastoral question that will vary from case to case. My own mother was divorced (for adultery), then became a Catholic and married again (civilly, of course).

I have tried to answer your questions honestly, Bishop, though you may find them deficient in some ways. Now would you please answer my question, which is really about what Dr Ison was saying:

No, Marion, my questions are not ‘off topic’. And your response suggests why not. I often hear about the ‘plain meaning of Scripture’ and nothing could be more plain than Jesus on divorce. Yet, we make accommodation according to pastoral priority and changing mores. You select the ‘Orthodox and Protestant’ traditions – presumably because they are convenient to your argument – but ignore the Catholic tradition. Did Jesus mean what he said or not? If not, how then do we approach other similar ethical issues? Casuistry proves nothing.

You want me to say what Dr Ison is really saying, but that is, in the end, for him to do – which he did on last Sunday’s BBC Radio 4 ‘Sunday’ programme. He has also clarified his view to the Bishop of London. You should pursue your questions directly with them. As for my view, I think lots of practices are unacceptable in God’s eyes (including usury – I assume you don’t have a bank account?), but we still have to start where people are and in order to make the best out of where they are. If questions about sex were so simple that they could be stated in a sentence, we wouldn’t be having the debates we are now. Your question raises the wider question of what ‘marriage’ is, who defines it and what sexual relationships mean in the context of it – a point Dr Ison addresses (as did the RC Archbishop of Westminster) on the radio programme.

I am clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is why ‘gay marriage’ as a term is, I believe, misguided. Civil partnership is something else and is to be taken seriously as a framework for fidelity and relationship. Believing in one does not end the argument and negate the other.

I think this is enough. Direct future questions to Dr Ison directly. I am moving on to other matters and this thread (which was about his appointment) is closed.